Why Did Men Stop Wearing Sideburns?

About this video

The Gazette team explores the history of sideburns in menswear, tracing their peak popularity in the 19th century through their decline in the 20th century. They examine six reasons why sideburns have fallen out of favor—including changing hair trends, cultural associations, and maintenance difficulty—while arguing that moderate, well-maintained sideburns can still work within contemporary classic style if styled thoughtfully.

Key takeaways

• The Gazette team argues that sideburns peaked during the Victorian and Edwardian eras as a status symbol, but declined after World War I due to military practicality, experiencing only a brief resurgence in the 1950s-1970s counterculture
• The Gazette team identifies six factors behind sideburns’ decline: general declining facial hair trends, incompatibility with modern short hairstyles, association with dated eras and specific cultural figures, maintenance difficulty, styling confusion, and their strong period-specific cultural associations
• The Gazette team recommends that men interested in wearing sideburns today should keep them moderate—ending between halfway down to just past the ears and matching the length of their side hair—to avoid appearing costume-like while maintaining a contemporary classic appearance

Episode details: published August 25, 2023 · 53K views · 21:56 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The style guidance summarized here is the Gentleman’s Gazette team’s own teaching and opinion, presented for education; product recommendations are theirs, not ours. Summaries are written by Self Growth Videos from each video itself.

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